Archive for July 30, 2010

Way back in March, we found out that Namco was testing a new racing game that was called Dead Heat Street Racing. I found out a little on the game at Amusement Expo but since then we have been waiting to actually see the game. Namco had the slightly renamed Dead Heat title at the AAMA 2010 Distributor Gala and we also have a full run down on what players can expect from the game – which includes some innovative methods at getting players to come back for more. Click below for the details!

Way back in March, we found out that Namco was testing a new racing game that was called Dead Heat Street Racing. I found out a little on the game at Amusement Expo but since then we have been waiting to actually see the game. Namco had the slightly renamed Dead Heat title at the AAMA 2010 Distributor Gala and we also have a full run down on what players can expect from the game – which includes some innovative methods at getting players to come back for more. Click below for the details!

The World’s Fastest Drummer Arcade is on it’s way to seeing a full release as the company behind the game, McAfee Enterprises Inc. (not to be confused with McAfee, makers of anti-virus software) has obtained a cabinet manufacturer to build the needed cabinets. While no final design has been seen for the game at the moment, the prototype version which had been tested a short time ago at the Game Galaxy Arcade in Tennessee was at a recent amusement event in Wisconsin called the Wisconsin Amusement and Music Operators (or WAMO) gathering. There the game was played 156 times, some of which you can see in the video below.

No word yet on when the game will be released but McAfee will be bringing the game to IAAPA this November.

The World’s Fastest Drummer Arcade is on it’s way to seeing a full release as the company behind the game, McAfee Enterprises Inc. (not to be confused with McAfee, makers of anti-virus software) has obtained a cabinet manufacturer to build the needed cabinets. While no final design has been seen for the game at the moment, the prototype version which had been tested a short time ago at the Game Galaxy Arcade in Tennessee was at a recent amusement event in Wisconsin called the Wisconsin Amusement and Music Operators (or WAMO) gathering. There the game was played 156 times, some of which you can see in the video below.

No word yet on when the game will be released but McAfee will be bringing the game to IAAPA this November.

Pengo. I thought this was going to be eight players on one cabinet but that doesn’t seem to be the case, at least for the moment. The location test connected four two player stations together.I know an 8-player cabinet would still be large but it would require a little less hardware to invest in. Famitsu has more pictures and a video of the game in action.

‘Tis the season of classic arcade remakes or sequels, or at least it seems that way. We have the excitement of a new four-player Pac-Man game, a new Darius and now we have another classic returning to arcades with Pengo. I never have played the arcade version of the original Pengo but I remember playing a port on the Atari 8-bit computer as a kid. Pengo may not carry with it strong name recognition like some other Sega games but perhaps that will change with the new version. The original had you pushing ice blocks around, trying to squish the Sno-Bees, who are chasing you. From the pictures it looks like the new Pengo will stick to the same basic formula but support for up to eight players. Judging from the picture above it doesn’t look like they are going to push the graphics envelope at all, relying upon the multiplayer aspect to carry it through. We have been talking a little bit lately about four player co-op so this certainly ups the ante – eight-players-on-one-cabinet games in the arcade sector aren’t new but they haven’t been done in quite a while as far as I know and with the right game, they can not only be a lot of fun, they can hold great earning potential as well. Will that work out with classic graphics though?

Sega will find that out as the game is testing at Club Sega Akihabara right now.

Exit question: In your opinion, what other classic games would work using a multiplayer update?

While I wasn’t expecting anything on this until tomorrow morning, it appears that all of the info already out on the new has pushed Taito to reveal more on the Darius title early, even though the countdown still has 14 hours left. You can visit the official Darius Site here – the only new reveal is the cabinet image you see above. That’s quite an impressive cabinet – there is some sort of force feedback in the seat and the screen configuration hearkens back to the original Darius from 1986. Fortunately it is when cabinets take this approach that make any future console ports have less impact on the arcade market as you would loose the extra wide view unless you are willing to setup two identical flat panels next to each other.

Hopefully we’ll have videos of this one in action very soon. I also hope that it gets a release outside of Japan. At the moment there is no indication of such a thing but Elevator Action: Death Parade was that way as well. As long as the price tag on this is far below the EADP then it would be even more feasible. The new Darius will be released in Japan this winter.